Court dismisses case against Vatican in Guam clergy abuse case | CPT PPP Coverage

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U.S. District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood on Thursday dismissed the case against the Holy See, or the Vatican, in a lawsuit filed by a former Father Dueñas Memorial School student.

The former student wanted the court to hold the Vatican liable for the actions of involving former Archbishop Anthony Apuron, who allegedly raped him in 1994-1995.

The judge, in a 35-page ruling, granted the Vatican’s motion to dismiss “for insufficient service of process and for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction under the (Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act).”

The act, a U.S. law, allows foreign states to avoid being sued in court. Courts have treated the Holy See as a foreign state.

“The court orders that the plaintiff’s claims against the Holy See be dismissed with prejudice,” Tydingco-Gatewood said in her order.

The Guam case is the latest in a string of cases seeking to hold the Vatican liable for clergy sexually abusing minors.

The plaintiff in the case is identified in court documents only as D.M. to protect his privacy. He’s represented by Guam-based attorney Charles McDonald and others.

The Vatican hired a team of attorneys, led by California-based Jeffrey Lena, on whom the Holy See calls when it needs defending in lawsuits on American soil.

D.M.’s case caught the Vatican’s attention when his counsel, McDonald, sought the federal court’s assistance in reaching out to the U.S. Department of State to serve the papers on the Holy See after prior attempts failed.

The Vatican asked the court to dismiss the case against it.

D.M. is one of more than 270 survivors of Guam clergy sexual assaults and the Archdiocese of Agaña agreed to compensate them under a court-approved reorganization plan as part of the archdiocese bankruptcy process.

Court documents said D.M. grew up on Saipan and attended Father Dueñas Memorial School on Guam during the 1994-1995 academic year. He was about 14 or 15 years old when Apuron raped and sexually abused him multiple times, court documents said.

D.M.’s lawsuit wanted the Vatican to be held liable for Apuron’s alleged actions.

The Vatican stripped Apuron of his title as archbishop of Guam and banned him from returning to Guam after a tribunal found him guilty of sexual assault of multiple minors. Apuron appealed the decision but lost.

This story will be updated.